Cambodia Digs in on its Canal
While the digital war of words heats up
Good morning! Hello to all new readers (there are a lot of you this week!) and welcome to the latest edition of the Vietnam Weekly, written by Ho Chi Minh City-based reporter Mike Tatarski.
Today’s newsletter is for paying supporters, while the Friday posts are always free to read. You can upgrade to a paid subscription to fully access this and all future exclusive articles for US$8/month or US$90/year. Group subscriptions are also available at a 20% discount per person (at least two readers) - this is ideal for offices, embassies, and consulates.
On to the news.
The proposed US$1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal has quickly become one of the most fascinating stories in Southeast Asia, and a potential flashpoint between Cambodia and Vietnam.
It’s still unclear where funding will come from, though the China Bridge and Road Corporation will supposedly foot the bill, or when construction of the 170-kilometer-long waterway from Phnom Penh to the Gulf of Thailand will begin.
But there’s plenty to discuss, from the Cambodian government’s messaging to the Vietnamese response thus far and the inevitable entrance of social media nationalism into the fray.
Let’s start with what Cambodia’s leadership has been saying about the canal, which is targeted for completion in 2028. The record on regional cooperation, especially with Vietnam, has been mixed.
Earlier this month Sun Chanthol, deputy prime minister of Cambodia and one of the project’s most prominent cheerleaders, told Reuters that the government would provide more information to other countries if requested, but had no obligation to consult them beyond that.